Public Funding for Mannok Build Limited

To deliver a unique pre-cast concrete modular building system which utilizes renewables and minimizes construction waste by transforming the way buildings are planned, designed, constructed, maintained and operated

Waterglass (sodium silicate) is a commodity industrial chemical, sold as a powder or water solution, and used in compound formulations, for processing textiles and lumber, and in the manufacture of ceramics, silica gel and other materials. Waterglass is prepared by melting together soda (Na2CO3) and quartz/silica sand (SiO2), in an energy-demanding process (1100-1200 °C) to produce an amorphous material known as cullet. The cullet is then mixed with water and pressurised steam to produce an aqueous solution. The development of a robust technology for making waterglass from waste glass is highly desired by the bulk industrial chemical industry. GUITAR will demonstrate a manufacturing process for waterglass suitable for producing "cementless" concrete products when used together with cement bypass flue dust (a waste stream from the manufacture of cement) and/or Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS, a by-product from steel production). The end products will be autoclaved aerated concrete building blocks, normal density blocks, and a pre-bagged one part binder (GGBS with waterglass) that do not use any Portland cement, instead using waste materials to replace it. These products will have a significantly lower environmental impact those currently on the market. The project will explore the preparation and purification strategies required to deliver waterglass equivalent to that produced as a commodity bulk chemical for use in detergents (the largest single market for waterglass) and paper production. The 2016 global market size of sodium silicate was estimated at $8.6 billion and is projected to reach $11.0 billion by 2022, with the EU sharing approximately 20% of the market. EU production capacity exceeds 2 million tonnes per annum. The competitive advantage of the new waterglass production process arises from its lower environmental impact and its lower cost of production. There are two-fold environmental benefits: lower process temperature (around 150 °C instead of \>1100°C) and use of waste glass cullet rather than virgin material (pure quartz/silica sand). The production cost for waterglass from the waste glass cullet is estimated at £100 £/tonne (about 95% cost being NaOH). In comparison, the market price of commercially available sodium silicate solution is of the order $500-$1000/tonne, and it is expected to further increase with increasing penalties for C02 emissions and consequent energy input costs.

The larger share of CO2 emissions in cement production is due to the calcination of limestone. This share can be mitigated through a process that reduces the clinker-cement ratio, using supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) such as natural pozzolans, blast furnace slags, fly ash and limestone filler. Natural pozzolans are plentiful in some countries due to volcanic formation, but not in the UK or Ireland. Blast furnace residue and fly ash are becoming increasingly scarce following the mandatory closure of coal-fired power stations by 2025\. This project will complete an in-depth feasibility study into the possibility of using abundant clay deposits in N.Ireland to produce an artificial SCM in the form of Natural Calcined Pozzolans (NCPs) for use in cement production. This will be aimed at replacing by-products such as Pulverised Fuel Ash (PFA) and Granulated Ground Blastfurnace Slag (GGBS) which are currently used as SCMs but are in decreasing availability in the UK. It will also examine the commercial viability of processing the product in an existing standard rotary kiln used previously for clinker production.

To develop low energy, thermal and acoustic high performance flowable concrete for use with novel production systems and utilizing innovative waste products